China Issues Death Penalty in Sect Killing

HONG KONG — Two members of a religious sect were sentenced Saturday to die in eastern China for beating a woman to death at a McDonald’s restaurant in May after she rebuffed their attempts to recruit her, state-run news media reported.

Zhang Fan and her father, Zhang Lidong, were given death sentences after a trial in the Yantai Intermediate People’s Court in Shandong Province. Three other defendants were given sentences ranging from life to seven years in prison, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Images carried by state media showed the defendants standing in a row before the judge, all in orange vests.

On the evening of May 28, Ms. Zhang and the other defendants were trying to recruit new members into their sect, the Church of Almighty God, at a McDonald’s in the city of Zhaoyuan, where they were soliciting people’s telephone numbers. One woman, Wu Shuoyan, who was with her young son, refused to give her number, and a quarrel ensued, state television reported when the group went on trial in August.

Ms. Zhang and another defendant then identified Ms. Wu as an “evil spirit,” and Ms. Zhang hit her on the head with a chair, Xinhua reported on Saturday. When Ms. Wu fell to the ground, Ms. Zhang stomped on her head. Her father, Mr. Zhang, hit Ms. Wu with a mop with such force that it broke, and also kicked and trampled her face, the report said. The blows killed Ms. Wu.

Members of the Church of Almighty God, an offshoot of Christianity, believe that Jesus Christ has returned as a Chinese woman who will save followers from apocalyptic destruction. The sect has been labeled an “evil cult” in China and banned.

The church has pledged to slay what it calls the “Great Red Dragon,” the Chinese Communist Party. As with many other sects that have emerged in China over the past two decades, the government sees it as a threat; in June it began a nationwide crackdown on the group, as well as others.

The church was founded in 1989 by Zhao Weishan. It was banned in 1995, and Mr. Zhao was reported to have fled to the United States.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: China Issues Death Penalty in Sect Killing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe